Only a Notary Public is entitled to exercise certain functions pertaining to certain registration matters in the Office of the Registrar of Deeds:

·         Personal servitude's (for example usufruct, habitatio and usus) must be attested by a notary.

·         Certain contracts must be registered in the deeds registry to be of any force or effect and have to be notarially attested before they can be registered. These include ante-nuptial contracts, servitude's, and long leases of land, notarial bonds, and prospecting contracts.

·         A notary authenticates certain formal documents and his authentication is regarded as authoritative.

·         A notary is also ex officio a commissioner of oaths and may administer an oath on an affidavit or take a solemn or attested declaration whenever requested to do so, or when such affidavits or declarations are required by law.

·         In his or her capacity as an attorney, a notary may be asked to draft numerous documents, and may also, if requested to do so, notarially execute any agreement or form of contract, whether or not such contract is required by law to be notarially executed.

·         A notarially executed document makes proof of the document easier in the event of the original being lost in view of the precautions the notary has to observe in connection with his or her protocol.

Louwrens Koen – Notary Public – South-Africa